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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by becksA on December 25, 2006, at 22:13:31
I have only had social anxiety for about 5 years. I'm 25 now and until I was 20 I was perfectly fine in any social situation. Not the slightest hint of anxiety. Then we went through tons of meds, ending now on Klonopin getting up to 14mg, but tapering off because I think it's way too much and I was making bad decisions. I'm down to 10mg pretty quickly and I think the anxiety should be much worse. If something like this can just come out of nowhere, has it been known to slowly just dissipate on it's own?
thanks
Posted by Maxime on December 25, 2006, at 22:18:05
In reply to Can it just.....Disappear???, posted by becksA on December 25, 2006, at 22:13:31
If it's a chemical imbalance, yup it can just go away on its own. The same with depression, it can leave on its own as well for the lucky few.
I hope the anxiety goes away and that you can get off the Klonopin.:)
Maxime
> I have only had social anxiety for about 5 years. I'm 25 now and until I was 20 I was perfectly fine in any social situation. Not the slightest hint of anxiety. Then we went through tons of meds, ending now on Klonopin getting up to 14mg, but tapering off because I think it's way too much and I was making bad decisions. I'm down to 10mg pretty quickly and I think the anxiety should be much worse. If something like this can just come out of nowhere, has it been known to slowly just dissipate on it's own?
>
> thanks
Posted by Phillipa on December 25, 2006, at 22:45:43
In reply to Re: Can it just.....Disappear??? » becksA, posted by Maxime on December 25, 2006, at 22:18:05
Maxie please could I be one of those lucky few? I have found though that when stress is down which it hasn't been for me since my thyroid went that I lost the anxiety. Love Phillipa
Posted by yxibow on December 26, 2006, at 1:57:51
In reply to Can it just.....Disappear???, posted by becksA on December 25, 2006, at 22:13:31
> I have only had social anxiety for about 5 years. I'm 25 now and until I was 20 I was perfectly fine in any social situation. Not the slightest hint of anxiety. Then we went through tons of meds, ending now on Klonopin getting up to 14mg, but tapering off because I think it's way too much and I was making bad decisions. I'm down to 10mg pretty quickly and I think the anxiety should be much worse. If something like this can just come out of nowhere, has it been known to slowly just dissipate on it's own?
If you have social anxiety disorder, its likely that it made a breakthrough because you have a biochemical tendency towards anxiety. That time of life is filled with the starting thoughts of breaking away from the nest and what direction one wants to take in life initially, education, etc. So are other periods of time. Most people with anxiety or depressive disorders other than environmentally driven ones (losses in life, sudden changes, etc.) are born with a biochemical imbalance that will fluctuate throughout their life. They may be relatively symptom free at times and sometimes unfortunately not so.
So the answer is yes, things can abate on their own but they go faster with help, and that doesn't just include medication, but medication and therapy. And to expect that some time in the future something else may come along, but you have had the tools to be able to deal with it better.
As I've mentioned before, 14mg of Klonopin is a very large amount and dropping so quickly to 10mg can potentiate seizures and possible permanent issues that are so small they wouldn't show up on the best scanners we have. But that's a decision you and your doctor are making, hopefully together. And going down, slo-wly, is a good thing because if you are open to therapy, it is easier to get emotions out if they aren't completely drowned by benzodiazepines. I know -- I'm still in need of a fairly high amount (not quite that high) of them, though attempting to see what reduction will do over time.-- tidings
J
Posted by becksA on December 26, 2006, at 10:50:17
In reply to Re: Can it just.....Disappear??? » becksA, posted by yxibow on December 26, 2006, at 1:57:51
Thanks for responding everybody, it seemed reassuring. Like I said, I don't know if it's the low dose of lithium that I've been taking as we wean off the Klonopin, but 4mg off what I am before and I have to admit there is some anxiety, but I'm hoping much of it is just from the rebound effect. Either way, I can smile at people I haven't seen in years (now around the holidays especially). That never would have happened before. It's almost like I'm waiting for it to start again! Too good to be true sort of thing.
Thanks
Posted by jimmygold70 on December 26, 2006, at 11:09:31
In reply to Can it just.....Disappear???, posted by becksA on December 25, 2006, at 22:13:31
I actually doubt if what you had was really SA. It could have been some form of agitation, for which Klonopin is very useful.
It's hard to say what you actualy had before you started experimenting with all the meds and what you actually have now. Unfortunately, some syndromes (like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) tend to come up in the 20s. I would reconsider the social phobia diagnosis - get another PDoc.
Jimmy
> I have only had social anxiety for about 5 years. I'm 25 now and until I was 20 I was perfectly fine in any social situation. Not the slightest hint of anxiety. Then we went through tons of meds, ending now on Klonopin getting up to 14mg, but tapering off because I think it's way too much and I was making bad decisions. I'm down to 10mg pretty quickly and I think the anxiety should be much worse. If something like this can just come out of nowhere, has it been known to slowly just dissipate on it's own?
>
> thanks
Posted by linkadge on December 26, 2006, at 12:26:28
In reply to Re: Can it just.....Disappear??? » becksA, posted by jimmygold70 on December 26, 2006, at 11:09:31
Yes it can just go away. Listen to it though. Know yourself and know your environment.
Your intuition is probably your greatest asset.
Go slow with the meds though. If you come off too much clonazepam too quickly you probably won't get anywhere.
Linkadge
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